Results and Borrowing an Item

"Why does it feel like you've become even more popular?" Shikamaru lay sprawled across his desk, looking at Ayato beside him.

"I didn't want this either." Ayato sighed.

Shikamaru believed him. Judging by Ayato's behavior, he was not actually aloof. He only put on that cold facade to avoid those troublesome girls.

Sure enough, people who were too outstanding remained this popular even when they acted like that, Shikamaru thought.

"Say, Naruto isn't going to be late on the first day of school, is he?" Shikamaru glanced at the empty seat beside Ayato.

"That's not impossible." Ayato thought for a moment.

Shikamaru and Ayato were both left feeling helpless.

Sure enough, Naruto did not arrive until some time after the class bell had rung.

Iruka, standing at the podium, had a prominent throbbing vein on his forehead. He had clearly been angered by Naruto being late on the very first day.

"Ayato, long time no see!" After a good while, Naruto finally returned to his seat and greeted Ayato.

"Yeah, long time no see." Ayato returned the greeting.

There was no further exchange, but Naruto was gradually getting used to it. He had realized that Ayato treated everyone about the same, and was even somewhat nicer to him.

Ayato was currently reading up on Sealing Techniques. Though his understanding of them might seem absurdly overpowered, that was only on the condition that he possessed sufficient strength. No one would just stand there without resisting and let themselves be sealed.

Still, they were indeed useful against certain special things. For example, when Jiraiya faced Itachi, he sealed away the black flames of Amaterasu. Otherwise, that thing would have been truly troublesome. Though its record in the original story was not particularly impressive, its established power level was high.

So, he still needed to learn some Sealing Techniques. As for Genjutsu, forget it. In the original story, only a few people had made a name for themselves with Genjutsu, and in the later stages, Genjutsu was basically useless anyway. Still, he could carefully study how to dispel Genjutsu later.

As Ayato pondered, he also recalled what he had gained over the winter break.

First, regarding the Flying Thunder God, he could now use the Summoning Technique without relying on the perception of Void State. That could be considered achieving his goal.

Void State had also improved further. He could manipulate some Chakra now, though he still could not perform shape transformation. There was no rushing that; he just had to take it one step at a time.

However, what surprised Ayato was that, while in Void State, he seemed to vaguely see traces of energy that he had been unable to see before.

Ayato guessed that this energy was probably Natural Energy. After so long, he had finally managed to see it through his own efforts. Of course, he had no intention of absorbing it.

First, he did not have enough Chakra to suppress Natural Energy. Second, even if he could suppress and absorb it, what if the proportions were mixed incorrectly and he turned into stone? Was that not courting death?

In any case, even though he could not absorb it, being able to sense Natural Energy was still a good thing. His perception was still somewhat hazy, but he could continue strengthening it in the future. Ayato was in no hurry, since truly learning Sage Mode required a sufficient Chakra reserve as a foundation.

Even though Ayato had been training constantly, it would still take a very, very long time for him to reach that level of Chakra. So what was the rush?

It would be better to continue deepening Void State. That way, when his Chakra reserve reached the required level, he would already be standing at a very high level. Learning Sage Mode would surely become much easier as well.

As for streamlining hand seals for ninjutsu, Ayato still needed three seals for the five seals of the Substitution Technique. However, he could feel that he was close to reducing it to two seals. The further he went, the more difficult it became to streamline them. Once the two-seal Substitution Technique started progressing toward one seal, the difficulty would likely multiply again.

Gale Palm, on the other hand, had many seals to begin with, so it was rather convenient to streamline.

Then there was the Rasengan. Ayato had successfully used a Wind Style Rasengan. It was a little more difficult than he had imagined, but it was still manageable and had not held him back for long. As for its power, it was indeed far greater than an ordinary non-elemental Rasengan.

Though Ayato was currently using only a miniature version, since the normal version consumed too much Chakra. He had no one to attack, so there was no need to waste that Chakra. Besides, the miniature version, or rather the reduced version, actually demanded more precise Chakra control.

Lastly, there was the nature transformation of Wind Style. He had long since been able to split a leaf, though it required quite a lot of Chakra. Now, he was working toward being able to split a leaf with every strand of Chakra.

All in all, the results had been remarkable, and Ayato was very satisfied with his progress.

During the break, Ayato went to find Ino.

"Is there, is there something you need, Ayato?" Ino was a little surprised that Ayato had approached her for the first time, then she smiled and asked.

Ayato had no intention of hiding it and told Ino that he wanted to borrow a Chakra-conductive tool.

"Oh, that's all? We should have plenty at home. How about I bring you a Kunai after I get back?" Ino agreed without giving it much thought.

"Then thank you. Oh, Ino, remember to tell your uncle before taking it." Ayato was genuinely afraid that Ino would take one out without saying anything. What if it was mistaken for him coveting her family's property? "I'll return it to you as soon as possible."

"Mm, my dad probably wouldn't care about one Kunai. I could even give it to you, but I understand. I'll tell Dad before I take one." After thinking for a moment, Ino asked curiously, "Why do you need it, Ayato?"

"For training." Lightning crackled across Ayato's palm as he said, "With a good tool, I can train more easily."

Ino stared at the flickering lightning in Ayato's hand in surprise. Admiration gradually appeared in her eyes. She did not know how Ayato had done it, but it looked amazing.

At the same time, Ino nodded seriously. She knew that training was crucial for every ninja, so she patted her chest and promised Ayato that she would definitely bring him the Kunai!

"Thank you." Looking at Ino, Ayato could not help but say it sincerely.

"N-No need to thank me. It's only natural..." Ino suddenly blushed as she looked at the serious Ayato before her, and her voice grew softer and softer.

Ayato did not hear her clearly and could not help asking, "What?"

"N-Nothing." Ino quickly waved her hands and said somewhat flusteredly, "Um, class is about to start. Ayato, you should get back to your seat too."

"Alright." Ayato checked the time. Had not the break just started not long ago? Still, he nodded and returned to his seat, continuing with his own work.

Everyone who had been watching Ayato saw his actions. The girls looked at Ino enviously. Her progress was so much faster than theirs. How were they supposed to catch up?

Shikamaru also looked at Ayato, then at Ino. He clicked his tongue and went back to lying on his desk.